Sabrina Ionescu plans to gift half 3-point contest prize to rookie Sonia Citron

Sonia Citron came up short in the WNBA 3-Point Contest on Friday, but her efforts didn’t go unnoticed. After New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu won the contest, she made a generous notion toward the former Notre Dame standout.

“Sabrina Ionescu said she’s going to give Sonia Citron half of her winnings from the 3-point contest,” ESPN’s Alexa Philippou wrote on X. “Ionescu wanted to support the rookie — whom she said was nervous going into tonight — for having the guts to be the only first-year to participate in the event.”

Ionescu will receive $60,000 from Aflac and the players’ union for winning the 3-point contest. She’ll receive another $2,575 from the WNBA, per the collective bargaining agreement. If Ionescu splits her $62,575 in total winnings with Citron, that’ll be $31,287.50 in the WNBA rookie’s pocket.

As Philippou reported, Citron was the only first-year player who competed in the 3-point contest this year. She finished with a contest-low 19 points in the first round and was eliminated.

Despite Citron’s loss in the WNBA 3-Point Contest, she’s had an extremely successful season. The Washington Mystics drafted Citron with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Through 22 games this season, Citron is averaging 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 45.0% from the field and 36.5% from beyond the arc. For her efforts, Citron was not only selected to compete in the 3-point contest, but was named a WNBA All-Star.

Citron’s exceptional shooting ability isn’t solely responsible for her success this season. Earlier this week, Mystics player development coach Clinton Crouch raved about Citron’s ability to quickly pick up new concepts.

“She makes me a better coach,” Crouch said, “because I have to make certain I come prepared, because whatever I put in front of her, she’s going to figure it out. And … the biggest separator for her is she’s able to install it in a game in real time, and it doesn’t take two, three weeks.

“If we work on something on a Monday [and] we play on Tuesday, she’s going to try it in the game, which to me is phenomenal. And that’s the hardest part for a coach to teach. Either players are able to do it or they’re not.”

Ionescu’s lucrative gift to Sonia Citron will go a long way for the Fighting Irish legend. Citron is making $78,831 on her rookie contract this year, per Spotrac.